The present invention relates generally to a treatment of a medium, and more particularly to a system and method for treatment of a gaseous medium and/or a sorbent.
The emission of carbon dioxide (herein also referred as “CO.sub.2”) to environment is considered to be a cause of greenhouse effect, which contributes to global warming. The greenhouse effect is controlled by reducing the emission of the CO.sub.2 to the environment. Some known techniques have been deployed to reduce the emission of the CO.sub.2 from an exhaust gaseous medium to the environment. Such known techniques include using adsorbents, molecular filters or membranes, and absorber systems for removal of CO.sub.2 from the exhaust gaseous medium.
Currently, there are various types of absorber systems or treatment systems for removal of CO.sub.2 from the exhaust gaseous medium. One such absorber system includes a “tray tower” or a “packed tower”, which is configured to contact the exhaust gaseous medium with a sorbent for absorption of CO.sub.2 from the gaseous medium. The gaseous medium is introduced through a bottom of the tray tower or the packed tower and flows upward, while the liquid sorbent flows downward in a counter-current direction to the gaseous medium within the tray tower or the packed tower. The tray tower or the packed tower is not suitable for the sorbent that undergoes a phase change or may become highly viscous during absorption of CO.sub.2 from the gaseous medium, as it may lead to plugging of the towers during operation of such towers. Such a sorbent may be used in the tray tower or the packed tower, along with a diluent so as to reduce the phase change or viscosity of the sorbent. However, usage of such diluent may incur additional cost or may not be readily available. Further, the high viscosity and the phase change of the sorbent, limits the usage of the sorbent that may have commercial advantages in terms of low energy and capital cost.
Further, such a process of removing the CO.sub.2 from the gaseous medium leads to an increase in temperature of the gaseous medium and the sorbent due to a chemical reaction of the gaseous medium with the sorbent. Also, the extent of CO.sub.2 absorption into the sorbent generally decreases with the increase in temperature of the gaseous medium and the sorbent, and hence the absorption process may slow-down or stop due to temperature equilibrium within the packed tower or the tray tower. Further, the gaseous medium may undergo a pressure drop, as the gaseous medium moves upwards along the packed tower or the tray tower. The pressure drop in the tray tower or the packed tower may be addressed by increasing a column diameter of such towers. However, installation cost and material cost may increase due to changes required in the structure of the towers.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for treating a gaseous medium and/or a sorbent.